Swimming teams repeat as Centennial Conference champs

The Gettysburg College men’s and women’s swimming teams added an exclamation point to their undefeated seasons, as both squads won their second straight Centennial Conference (CC) titles Sunday, Feb. 19 at the Gettysburg College Bullets Pool.

The men’s team, which led by 53 points after Day One and never looked back, cruised to a 222-point victory, outdistancing runner-up Dickinson College 846-624. The women’s team fell behind early on Sunday night but went in front to stay with a big second event – the 200-backstroke – and won by 38 points.

The depth of the men’s team was evident heading into the meet, as the Bullets owned four of the five conference relay records and had the top-seven ranked swimmers in the 100-freestyle. Gettysburg went on to post NCAA Division III Championship-qualifying “B” cut times in all five relays while winning four of them. Eight Bullets qualified for the finals in the 100-freestyle, including a staggering six in the “A” final. Gettysburg went on to go sweep the top-four spots and score 102 points in the event.

“It’s the best men’s team that I’ve coached at Gettysburg College,” said head coach Mike Rawleigh, who has now led Gettysburg to 36 conference titles. “We may not see another one like it again. I think they’ll represent the College very well at the national level in about a month.”

The Bullet women won without having a single event winner. “It just shows the kind of depth and determination that they have,” said Rawleigh. “These kinds of wins are really special.”

Founded in 1832, Gettysburg College is a highly
selective four-year residential college of liberal
arts and sciences with a strong academic tradition.
Alumni include Rhodes Scholars, a Nobel laureate,
and other distinguished scholars. The college
enrolls 2,600 undergraduate students and is located
on a 200-acre campus adjacent to the Gettysburg
National Military Park in Pennsylvania.